Chilmark turns to webinars to save on training costs

The town of Chilmark has turned to webinars offered by the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association (MIIA), its insurance provider, to train employees and save time and money in the process.

Webinars are online “virtual” seminars delivered via the Internet to large audiences in different locations who view and listen to the training through their computers, according to a press release.

Since webinars take place over the Internet directly on computers, there is no need for employees to leave the workplace or factor in travel time or expenses, making them a cost-effective and efficient method of training. Usually lasting around 60-90 minutes in length, they fit easily into the busy workday, and multiple participants can view the webinar at a single on-site location. Employees benefit from exchanging ideas with each other directly as well as with the webinar moderator via email. In addition, webinar materials are often accessible after the online session, enabling participants to review and revisit the presentation as needed.

This type of training is otherwise unavailable to us because of where we are, Tim Carroll, executive secretary said. Instead of losing a full day of work, traveling on the first ferry and returning after dinner time, employees can benefit from these short seminars from their own desks.

Chilmark has participated in MIIA’s no-cost educational webinars over the past year, including Introduction to Professional Liability Coverage and Law Enforcement Liability. In addition, the municipality earns insurance credits through the MIIA Rewards program for its participation in webinars as well as other safety and loss-control seminars. MIIA has offered 14 webinars to more than 500 municipal employees across the Commonwealth over the past two years, according to a press release.

The Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association (MIIA) is the member-driven, nonprofit insurance arm of the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA). As a member-based organization, MIIA’s only focus is to provide excellent service and quality risk management solutions to nearly 400 cities, towns, and other public entities in Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.emiia.org and www.mma.org.